Point Loma Nazarene University recently dedicated Sator Hall and Latter Hall on its San Diego campus. The new complex accommodates the increasing number of students who want to study science at PLNU. 

University President Bob Brower was joined by members of the PLNU Board of Trustees, faculty, students, alumni, donors, and community leaders to celebrate this addition to the university.  With participation from a number of individuals across the PLNU community, the ceremony recognized the success of the sciences at PLNU and celebrated the many individuals who worked tirelessly to see the fruition of the project, including the Sator and Latter families and pioneering faculty members in the STEM disciplines. 

“Excellent teaching, careful mentoring, and hands-on learning have been a hallmark of the PLNU Science Program,”  Brower said. “These inimitable characteristics, coupled with this new, innovative facility, will enable the science program to reach new heights and support the continued success of our PLNU science faculty and students.”

Designed by San Diego-based architectural firm Carrier Johnson + CULTURE and constructed by Rudolph and Sletten General Contractors, the 36,000-square-foot complex sits at the heart of the San Diego campus. The building, marked by a curved stainless-steel environmental screen and its prominent coastal site, is a memorable home for the university’s rapidly growing interdisciplinary science program, unifying Christian values with a broad curriculum and state-of-the-art technology, laboratories, and classrooms. 

The building project is an important addition, both academically and architecturally, according to Ray Varela, architect in charge for Carrier Johnson + CULTURE.

“Through the long arc of a perforated stainless-steel wall, the building subtly consecrates its Christian foundations in a salient design feature,” Varela said. “This unique screen filters sun and shade into the common area in a subtle echo of the qualities one finds in a cathedral space.”

With nearly 40 percent of PLNU’s undergraduate students majoring in one of the science-related disciplines and all undergraduate students required to complete a laboratory science course during their time at PLNU, the new building is a desirable addition to campus.

“Every student at PLNU will benefit from this investment,” said Sara Choung, chair of the Chemistry Department. “This much-needed facility better reflects the quality of the faculty, students, and alumni who have stretched PLNU’s science program in remarkable directions.”

The dedication marks PLNU’s commitment to both current and future students, faculty, and the San Diego region as an institution known for excellence in academic preparation, wholeness in personal development, and faithfulness to mission.

--Point Loma Nazarene University